(iOLLECTION

MONDES DE L'ENFANCE

Production institutionnelle
de l'enfance
Declinaisons locales et pratiques d'acteurs
 Collection Mondes de l'enfance
I

Couverture: Photographie de Charles-Edouard de Suremain (IRD), annonce de fete

d'anniversaire, San Luis Potosi (Mexique).

Production institutionnelle
de I' enfance
Dedinaisons locales et pratiques d'acteurs
(Amerique latine & Europe)

Depot legal D/2016112.839/3 edite par

ISBN 978-2-87562-089-7

© Copyright Presses Universitaires de Liege 2016 v eronique p ACHE H UBER, Charles-Edouard DE SUREMAIN
Presses Universitaires de Liege et Elise GUILLERMET
Quai Roosevelt lb, B-4000 Liege (Belgique)
http://www.presses.ulg.ac.be

Tous droits de traduction et de reproduction reserves pour tous pays. Presses Universitaires de Liege
Imprime en Belgique 2016
Mai 2016
 Sommaire

Veronique P ACHE HUBER, Charles-Edouard DE SUREMAIN

et Elise GUILLERMET
Introduction - Des politiques institutionnelles aux representations
de l'enfance. Perspectives d'Amerique latine et d'Europe ................................ 7

Emilie POTIN
La protection de l' enfance.
De l'inten~t de l'enfant aux inten~ts defendus par les enfants (France) ........ 23

Pierrine ROBIN
En quete « d'unite du soi » face a la discontinuite des trajectoires
de vie. Des parcours de placements sous contraintes (France) ..................... 43
Marie-Terese CASMAN et Angele CESAR
Inten~t superieur de l' enfant et choix d'hebergement en cas
de separation parentale : guide ou chimere? Le cas de la Belgique .............. 63
Sarra MOUGEL
L'enfant et sa famille au prisme de l'hopital, XIx•-xx• siecles (France) ........ 83
Marie-Laure CADART
Petite enfance et prevention precoce : un debat de societe.
Du Conseil National de la Resistance aPas de 0 de Conduite (France) ..... 103
Chantal MEDAETS et Fernanda BITTENCOURT RIBEIRO
Projet de loi « anti-fessee ». Enjeux politiques, debats publics
et pratiques parentales (Bresil) ........................................................................ 123
Robin CAVAGNOUD
Comprendre la notion de survie au fil des parcours d' enfants
en situation de rue aLa Paz et El Alto (Bolivie) ............................................ 143
Maria Dolores CERVERA MONTEJANO
Studying Yucatec Maya children through the eyes of their mothers
(Mexico) ............................................................................................................. 161
 Studying Yucatec Maya Children
through the Eyes of their Mothers (Mexico)
Maria Dolores CERVERA MONTEJANO*

Central to the study of childhood and children are the assumptions that both
are cultural constructions and that the latter are active constructors of culture.
However, differences in approaches between Europe and the United States have
been noted. Perhaps the most important is the major role that developmental
psychology has played in the US but not in Europe (LeVine 2007; Montgomery
2009; Prout & James 1997). Contributions of developmental psychology come
from perspectives put forth around the time that the field of childhood and
children studies was emerging (for instance, see Bronfenbrenner 1979; Kessen
1979; Rogoff 2003; Super & Harkness 1986). They challenged mainstream
developmental psychology on its search for "the eternal child" rather than the
"historical child" (Vygotsky [1934] 1986) and for viewing children as passive
recipients of adult care and instruction. These approaches have incorporated
anthropological perspectives and share the assumptions that development is a
culturally structured process in which children actively participate. Thus, social
sciences and critical developmental psychology perspectives are complementary
and have contributed to advancing the view that children are not merely adults in
the making - or "becomings" - but also capable beings who actively engage in
sharing and constructing cultural meaning while participating in their own
developmental process (James 2011; Uprichard 2008).
It is from this general view that I have studied the cultural construction of
Yucatec Maya children through the eyes of their mothers. That is, I have studied
maternal ethnotheories and child rearing practices based on the conceptual
framework of the developmental niche (Super & Harkness 1986). Defined as a
system, it consists of three interrelated components: physical and social settings
(places, objects, and people available for interaction), child rearing practices, and
parental ethnotheories. It serves to mediate the relationship between children and
culture by structuring the context in which they live. Therefore, it provides
building blocks for children to construct their own culture. Among the compo-
nents of the developmental niche, parental ethnotheories play a leading role as
cultural models. These are taken-for-granted systems of thought/feeling about

* Anthropologist, Department of human ecology, Centro de investigaci6n y de estudios Avanza-

dos de) IPN-Unidad Merida (Mexico), email: lola@mda.cinvestav.mx, mdcphd@gmail.com
162 MARIA DOLORES CERVERA MONTEJANO
the world that participants of a cultural community share, actively construct and
negotiate through everyday interactions with their changing context. They serve
to frame the interpretation of everyday experience and guide action as they are
directed towards achieving goals, either conscious or unconscious (D'Andrade
1997; Quinn & Holland 1995).
Parental ethnotheories are specific cultural models about the nature and
meaning of childhood, children, and parenting. Parents construct and negotiate
them by framing their past and present experience in the historical and changing
experience of their community. They serve as cultural guides for parental per-
ception and action and they communicate affective, didactic, and symbolic mess-
ages to children through rearing practices and the organization of children's
access and interaction with physical and social settings; that is the other two
components of the developmental niche (Harkness & Super 1992; Harkness,
Super & Keefer 1997; Super & Harkness 1986). Similar to other specific cultural
models, parental ethnotheories are grounded in worldview : the general cultural
model of the relationship between natural and sociocultural environments that is
present in all spheres of life and frames human understanding and action in rela-
tion to nature, the self and other human beings (Cervera & Mendez 2006). In
summary, parental ethnotheories relate to worldview. They set the stage for
development and children's access to knowledge, beliefs, and practices though
their instantiation in the other two components of the developmental niche.
I present Yucatec Maya mothers' ethnotheories about child development
The data comes from two research projects that I have carried out in two villages,
Popola and Kini 1• I selected them because they represent the two most contrast-
ing historical contexts of integration into the Mexican nation in the state ~f
Yucatan. Popola is located in the eastern region of traditional subsistence agn-
culture or milpa2 • Kini is located in the northwestern region. This was incor-
porated into capitalist agriculture through henequen haciendas in the second half
of the 19th century3. Projects were carried out in 1996-1998 and 2008-2010. I
1. Projects were partially funded by Consejo nacional de ciencia y tecnologia (grants 2209HP
and 60167).
2. Milpa refers to a general cultural model or worldview. Human beings are allowed to. tern"°:
rarily loan the bush from its lords in order to feed themselves and are responsible for its resli
tution. The model is instantiated in milpa-making which consists of slash-and-butll
cultivation of corn, beans, vegetables and tubers followed by a fallow period. Corn is the rnotC
important as human beings were created with corn.
3. Haciendas were large agricultural estates operated by land-owners who iorce c d m· d'genolll
I .
populations into debt peonage. The hacienda system was the basis of the transformatl:
agricultural production and agrarian structure into a capitalist endeavor in the second h
the 19th century. In the state of Yucatan, haciendas cultivated one of two native agave 5 d
henequen (Agave fourcroydes, ki in Yucatec Maya) for its fiber that was in great deman
international markets (Garcia 1986).
STUDYING YUCATEC MA YA CHILDREN THROUGH THE EYES OF THEIR MOTHERS
163
an~y~e how maternal ethnotheories relate to worldview while considering
vanat10ns between mothers from both villages and time variations.
I used a mixed methods design. I first applied questionnaires to all partici-
pating mothers, followed by ethnographic interviews of subgroups 4 • The first
project focused on temperament characteristics of children aged four to 36
months (Cervera & Mendez 2006). Mothers of all children in that age group were
invited to participate and 178 agreed (76.1 % of the total). Among them, I selected
24 for ethnographic interviews, based on the rapport established with them and
the ease with which they were able to communicate their knowledge. The second
p~oject focused on ethnotheories of development, intelligence, and teaching-lear-
nmg processes. I randomly selected samples of mothers who participated in the
first project. At this second time, their children were between 12 and 15 years of
age. I also selected random samples of mothers of children between three and 11
years of age. There were 296 participants and I selected 16 mothers for ethno-
graphic interviews, using the same criteria as before. All questionnaires and
interviews were applied at home. Throughout field work in both projects, infor-
mation from questionnaires and interviews was complemented by observations
made at the time they were applied as well as informal interviews with family
members other than mothers - mostly grandmothers - and participant obser-
vation projects.
"As IS DAWNING, SO IS GAINING UNDERSTANDING"
While I was doing field work in Popola at the beginning of 1997, I read
Gaskin's account of how Yucatec Maya parents describe development or under-
standing as they name it, "as an ongoing approximation of a change, so subtle
that it is rarely proclaimed that a child has accomplished that change ... is seen not
only as gradual and continuous but also as largely natural and automatic"
(Gaskins 1996: 355). By that time, mothers had already described how na'at
(understanding in Yucatec Maya) relates to behavior as they identified certain
temperament characteristics with their child's uts u or k'asan u modos (good/nice
or bad/ugly manners). The former were defined as being obedient ("I do not need
to scold her, she always listens to what I say"), respectful ("they address adults as
u.ncle or aunt, never by their name"), and generous ("he shares everything with his
si_blings and friends"); k'asan u modos were defined as being disrespectful,
disobedient/stubborn, stingy, and bad-tempered. I followed the thread of the
descriptions by asking mothers about how the child's understanding unfolded,
what new behaviors and abilities had emerged, and what were the most
4.
Quantitative data were analyzed statistically. When I refer to differences between mothers it
means that they were statistically significant. For the sake of brevity, I omit results from tests.
Interpretation was based on maternal descriptions and exegesis from questionnaires and
ethnographic interviews.

MAR1A D OLORES C ERVERA MONTEJANO
164
important health problems that threaten young children. I followed the same
procedure with mothers from Kini.
Mothers from both villages described their child's process of understanding
similarly and their descriptions conformed to Gaskin's account. I summarize
published results (Cervera 2007b; Cervera & Mendez 2006) but have added some
maternal descriptions. At birth, ma' t6op ' u na'at (understanding is not yet
opened or has not yet sprouted) and neonates "just exist, they just nurse, sleep,
and cry". New abilities and behaviors displayed by infants and children are inter-
preted as a sign of understanding unfolding but its pace depends on su de pars{
("how they are"). Between two and four months of age, t'su ho'op'o'ol u yantal u
na'at ("they have finished beginning to have understanding"). This means that
the beginning of the process is finished. Thus, infants start smiling when they are
talked to "because they not only hear, they understand". Smiling and gazing at the
person who addresses them as well as gesturing, pointing, and babbling are
viewed as attempts to communicate. Between six and eight months of age, "ku
k'ahotiko'ob max u mama" (they recognize their mother), "ho'op'o'ob u yu'ubik
t'aan yeetel u yantal u na'at wa ku t'aanalo'ob k'eeylo'ob wa ku t'aanalo'ob seen
k'aam" (they begin to listen to the voice and understand if they are scolded. if
they are spoken to loudly).
Between eight and 12 months, they start obeying and "ku na'to'ob u lak'
ba'alo'ob jex u yiliko'ob balche'ob" ("they understand other things like seeing
animals"). Between one and three years of age, some children may become
stubborn and bad-tempered as a result of innate tendencies ("su de par si) or
inheritance but they may also learn from others. Between the second and third
year of life, mothers start explaining how to behave to children and why 1!1ey
should correct their k'asan u modos. However, children are not held responsible
nor are they expected to change because they are not yet able to underst~d the
consequences of their behavior, ma' tu tsiko'ob cuenta ("they are not aware ?• md
tu tukulo'ob ("they do not think") . Between three and four years of age, childrell
are able to start realizing the consequences of their behavior and learn hou
chores. Parents start holding them responsible and begin explaining and t
ing, and whenever necessary, scolding and threatening to spank them if they
not obey. Yucatec Maya-speaking mothers explained that by three to four Y ,
age, children yantal u na'at ("have their understanding") because t~ey tsu k
u yiik'o'ob ("have finished remembering their responsibility"). Little by
children increase their participation in household or agricultural chores.::.
time they are between ten and 12 years of age, children are expected _to
ponsible for behaving properly, doing household chores, and studying
themselves. their
From an early age, children are granted autonomy to make
decisions, which are respected. They may be cajoled but not forced.
STUDYING Y UCATEC MAYA CHILDREN THROUG H THE EYES OF THEIR MOTHERS 165
weaning infants refuse a food, mothers do not insist and offer a different one.
Similarly, mothers do not force older children to eat what they do not like. While
doing interviews, I watched children from three years of age go out without
asking permission even if their mother did not approve, se lo tengo dicho que no
sal~a, ?era jay,,Dios! este chiquito ("I have told him not to go out but my God!
This httle one ). A three year old boy decided to sell some herbs grown in the
home garden because he had understanding and wanted to have some cash of his
own. He ~old a bunch of herbs to me. A three year-old girl started playing with
my pencil. Her mother told her to stop but to no avail. We continued the
interview and she explained that the little girl had yet to understand. On one
occasion, three siblings were playing cards together; the younger one was a three
year-old girl who insisted on having them all. As the older ones tried to take them
away from her, the mother told them dejenla asi, no lo entiende ("let her [have
them], she does not understand").
Mothers considered understanding to be an innate, gradual and continuous
process, similar to dawning, as a grandmother explained. However, they also
conside~ed that.talking to infants since early age helps them begin understanding
and talking earlier. Mothers direct rhetorical questions to their infants. Once they
are able to walk, mothers direct commands in order to prevent accidents and
illness. When children are three to four years old, mothers direct commands to
correct malos modos and start explaining how to behave. Between five and six
years of age, mothers start requesting children to do chores or run errands. Once
children start attending primary school, mothers start inquiring about homework
an~, if av~ilable, ask older siblings to help younger ones. Parents also seek to sym-
bohcall~ mfl~ence ~e process of understanding early through the ceremony of
hetsmek . This gets its name from the word for carrying young children straddled
on the hip. Its purpose is to help children to walk fast and learn to work. Mothers
from_ Popola also st_ated ~tial ka ' k'ahak u yiik'o 'b seeb (some fathers who spoke
S~a~ish translated it as So that they become more intelligent"). The phrase is
similar to the one used by mothers to explain the level of understanding achieved
by ~ree to four years of age. Thus, it may be glossed as " that they remember
their responsibility soon".
. Differences in schooling and language among mothers related to variations
mth eir· et h noth eones.
· Mothers from Popola had 2.7 years of schooling on
~;~rage; 77.3% were monolingual Yucatec Maya speakers and the remaining were
mgual Yucatec Maya-Spanish. However, except for one of the bilingual
lll?~ers from Popola, none felt comfortable answering questionnaires and main-
~ammg a conversation in Spanish; they preferred to speak Yucatec Maya. Mothers
rom Kini had 5.4 years of schooling on average; 66.1 % were bilingual and the
Po , g were mono1._m,gu al Spams
remainin . h speakers. In contrast to mothers from
. pola, those from Kmi preferred speaking Spanish. Mothers from Popola
interpreted children's withdrawal responses from people as fear-based and asso-
 STUDYING Y UCATEC MAYA CHILDREN THROUGH T HE EYES OF THEIR MOTHERS 167
M AR1A DOLORES C ERVERA MONTEJANO
166

crisis, others had migrated to the state ~ Quint:ir Jobs due to the.2008 financial
some migrants had returned because the lost th . .
dated them with evil eye, whereas mothers from Kini viewed them as shyness.
Mothers from Popola and Kini acknowledged that responding to every sign of industry. Migrants' remittances had lar el . na Roo to work m the tourism
distress makes the child more difficult to care for. However, the former usually improve or build famil h d g y mcreased. Before these were used to
~
y omes an a small baseball field B 2010 h h
responded quickly to prevent illness and the latter did not believe that illness e ped build a new preschool, a health clinic a . . ' t ey ad
h 1
ensued. Understanding was viewed as more rapidly unfolding among mothers partnership with local state and feder 1 ' nd a children s playground in
from Kini and more schooled mothers from Popola, judging from ideas on their years and over ' . . a governments. The proportion of males 12
th engaged m agnculture decreased from 40.4% to 12 8%. f
child's temperament and age of becoming aware of the consequences of behavior. em no longer grew henequen but made mil a· h . . ' some o
laborers increased slightly and
5~ . [ ' t e proportion of wage and day
::;~,",;df~~:;s :~;i~·';t! 01der'. ;.~;, e;:P:,~~e:Cf!~Y=~~~s~w':~;e;xi;:;~;;
7
POPOLA AND KINI A LITTLE OVER A DECADE LATER
As I watched the central plaza filled with women and children attending a
school event and met Dona Eusebia and her family, the Popola I knew seemed worked in a maquilad:ra ioca~~d i~o~~gn;:~~e~~a::~~t~ l~s~r ~xtent. mal~s,
almost gone. The number of women and children was higher than I expected. not change; there were one preschool one rim . .c oo services did
Dona Eusebia was no longer wearing hipil (the traditional female garment) and grade, and one junior high school 'Form p h ary school with one group per
was speaking a little Spanish. I noticed young men and women driving motor- government abandoned them be . th er enequen growers felt that the
cause ere was no longer fi .1
cycles or scooters, small diners that served hamburgers and hot dogs, and quite a continue with their activity· Ki"n i' d"d . the sa tnancia
th ·ll support to
thei~~J~ren.e
i not remam
few new stores. In 1996, few families had a TV set and none had telephones. By was still there as I listened to mothers talking about vi age I knew
2008, virtually all families owned at least one mobile phone, almost all owned a
TV set, and many owned a DVD player. The population increased from 2562 RESPONSIBILITY, RESPECT, AND OBEDIENCE
inhabitants to 3675. In 1996, 54.8% of men aged 12 and over reported making
3.3 years of schooling and those afr~i:· Ki~i a:e~a~e~ mothers from Popola had
Maternal schooling changed l"ttl 0
milpa and 20.2% reported being engaged in wage labor as their primary activity.
In 2008, proportions were reversed (27.5% and 44%, respectively). Construction changed more. Among mothers from Po ol 'a . o years. M~~ernal language
industry in the southern coast of the neighboring state of Quintana Roo was Maya-Spanish 40 2% were monol" al y p a, 58.9 Yo were bilmgual Yucatec
booming, thus adult males temporarily migrated to work there. The number of lingual Spanish sp. eakers This . mgu . uchatec Maya, and 0.9% (2) were mono-
. mcrease m t e number of th h
females aged 12 years and over who were housewives changed little but quite a being bilingual may relate to their work a . m? ers w o reported
few were now also employed as housemaids or kitchen helpers in the nearby city city of Valladolid. However, their level of s h~u.semaids or kitc~en helpers in the
of Valladolid. As a result of the 2008 financial crisis, most males lost their jobs learned what they needed to function in ~~o· ic~e~c~as poor smce they had just
and returned to Popola. Most women also lost their jobs, and some diners and Spanish but 52.5% were bilingual. As bef~~eJObn· mothers from Kini spoke
stores closed. Education services also changed. In 1996, there was one early child- preferred speaking Yucatec Maya and th ' f mgual. r:iothers from Popola
hood education group and one preschool, the former monolingual Yucatec Maya Spanish. ose rom Kim preferred speaking
and the latter bilingual; by 2008, a new early childhood education group and a
new monolingual Spanish preschool had been opened. In 1996, primary school Most mothers from Kini (70.6%) considered that child 1
understanding, whereas more moth f , ren may earn to have
was bilingual and multigrade; in 2008, there were two shifts, each with twO standing is inherited or it is su suer;:~e~on7n:o~~la (~7.0%: t~o~ght that under-
groups per grade plus a mobile first grade classroom. Education was now sf, which was used b . . e p rase is similar to su de por
provided in Spanish despite the fact that children continued learning Yucatec and the ace t h. y mothers before to explam variations in children's modos
Maya as their first language at home. Similarly, a second shift at the junior high Pb a w ich understanding unfolds. It translates as "child's luck" b t .
ay a so e glossed as "child' d . ,, ( ' u it
is also influe~c estmy Barrera Vazquez et al. 1980). However,
school had been opened. As time passed, I realized that the Popola I knew Vld m 1
understanding
still there, as I listened to mothers talking about their children. thought that it d d . ehd ?Y
the developmental niche. Even if they

~!~~:.g;:;;n:~:\.~~~n:;~~~~~;,;'~~~~;·,~~~e:c~~i~c~:~i~~:e l:~sh~:O':n~:~
epen s on m entance or luck/d f h
Kini seemed to remain very much as I remembered it: a village where allll()St
everybody had relatives who migrated to the USA. Here too, young females and
males were driving motorcycles or scooters and there were a few new stores. ri- e buen camino ("explain what is good and what is evil t~ t,hayu
em, harlos
e P tahque
em totomen
take
population decreased a little from 1581 in 1997 to 1414 in 2010. Even tho

MAR1A DOLORES CERVERA MONTEJANO
168
the right path"); cuando vean que su hijo no entiende las cosas, le pueden explicar
las cosas para que los aprenda ("when they see that their child does not
understand things, they can explain to him so that he learns)"; los papas pueden
explicarle a sus hijos sabre el trabajo de la casa y del camto ~"parents can explain
to their children about household and agricultural chores );jugando con sus hijos,
habltindolos y aconsejandolos ("playing with their children, talking to them,
advising them"); I play with Imelda because the doctor told me to do so in order for
her to u k'ahal u yiik' seeb [seeb means faster]. Siblings help because juegan,
platican de muchas cosas y los mayores les ensefian muchas cosas a los chicos
("[they] play together, talk about a lot of things and the older _ones teach the
younger ones a lot of things"); porqu= los chicos ven el comportamiento ~ l~ f~rm~
de ser de sus hermanos y los imitan ( because the younger ones see their siblings
behavior and way of being and imitate them").
All mothers from Popola and 95.9% of those from Kini considered that
school contributes to children having understanding. The remaining mothers
argued that it depends on children paying attention or on teachers' performance.
The role attributed to school may be roughly divided into two. The first one more
frequently described in both villages (86.4%) may be referred to as. domain-
specific. That is, the type of knowledge and skills that school provides : ah{
aprenden muchas cosas. Dibujar, pintar, rec~rtar y, en la ~tra escuela, las
matematicas, espafiol, a leer y escribir porque st no saben leer, solo :en letras,_ no
saben que dicen ("there [preschool] they learn many things. Drawi~g, colon_ng,
cutting with scissors, and at the other school [primary], mathematics, Spamsh,
reading and writing because if they do not know how to read, they o~ly see
letters, they do not know what they mean"); en que van a la escuela, u ~ ahal u
yiik'o'ob y, poco a poco, van ensefiando lo que se les acuerda en la ~scuela ( as they
attend school, they remember their responsibility and, little by little, they go on
showing what they remember at school"); aprenden lo nuevo de la escuela Y
cuando regresan a su casa combinan sus conocimientos de la escuela Y de la casa
("they learn new things at school and when they come home, they combin~ what
they learn at school with what they learn at home"); los ensefia, les explica l~
cosas de los libros ("[school] teaches them, explains the things [knowledge] in
books to them"); ahi les dan clases de varias asignaturas, c6mo debe~, expresarse
("there they are taught different subject matter, how to speak correctly ).
The second role may be referred to as shared. It centers on the type
teaching and explaining that parents do at home. It includes behaviors th~
0
, - b mo el respe,o
instantiate the notion of uts u modos: aht les ensenan cosas uenas, co the}'
y ahi u k'ahal u yiik'o'ob ("there they teach them good things like respect and
remember their responsibility"); les explican muchas cosas como llevarse ~ tra;rsg
con los otros y no pelearse ("[teachers] tell them many things like getting ~
with others, how to treat them and not to fight"); la maestra los habla Y se eq~eit
como si fuera su mama ("the teacher talks to them and acts as if she wer
STUDYING YUCATEC MAYA CHILDREN THROUGH THE EYES OF THEIR MOTHERS 169
mother"); alli les explican c6mo respetar, obedecer ("there [teachers] tell them how
to be respectful and obedient").
As before, I observed children going out without asking permission, mothers
telling older children to let their under three year-old siblings do things their own
way because they had yet to have understanding. When school performance
among siblings varied considerably, mothers explained that it was a matter of
whether they like studying or not, and that maybe those who performed poorly
could change if they se dan cuenta, piensan ("become aware, think") or escuchan
("listen to") parents and teachers. If they do not, it makes no sense to force them
because they will fail. A mother of a 14 year-old girl said: I explain to her but she
does not like studying. She wants to work so she earns money to buy things. I
cannot make her study if she does not want. When talking about her 15 year-old
son, a mother explained so far, he u k'ahal u yiik' for studying but ma' [ma' means
no] u k'ahal u yiik' ("for obeying me, taking care of me, loving me or helping me
with household chores"). Her husband was present and so was her son. The
former nodded. The latter smiled and shrugged, and soon after said goodbye and
left. The mother then said that he will eventually understand because he is a good
boy. Whenever mothers were asked their permission for children's participation
in a_ study_(in Popola, Kini and other Yucatec Maya communities), they always
r~phed I~ ts up to them; mothers also respected children's activities even if they
did not like them (e.g., bird catching) (Jimenez 2012, Mendez 2009, Uc 2014).
UYANTAL UNA'AT, UK'AHAL UYIIK'O'OB "THEIR UNDERSTANDING IS AWAKE IS
" ,
OPEN : DESTINY AND RESPONSIBILITY
Among the Maya, destiny has been conceived as a road since at least the
Classic Period (AD 250-850). Evidence shows that the glyph for the
contemporary Yucatec Maya term beh (and its cognates in other Maya languages)
referred to road, astral course, spirit path, day, well-being, destiny, life course,
and occupation. It also shows that these meanings have changed little over time
(Keller 2009). One's destiny, occupation, abilities and character were bound to
the day of birth among ancient Maya and all ancient Mesoamerican peoples, as
they still are among some contemporary peoples. Each day carries its own kuuch.
The glyph for this word and its cognates in other contemporary Maya languages
means load, obligation in the sense of burden and duty, guilt, occupation, and
! road in the sense of destiny. Hence one's occupation, character, and abilities, in
summary, destiny and responsibility are tied to the burden of the birthday. Ful-
filling one's destiny and responsibility contributes to the cosmic order as esta-
e
blished by the creator gods (Popol Vuh 2007; Farriss 1987; Freidel, Schele &
Parker 1993; Monaghan 1998). Nevertheless, rather than being an inevitable fate,
destiny is better understood as a general orientation or potential bestowed upon
the individual on his birth day. For it to be realized or avoided - in the case of a
170 M AR1A D OLORES CERVERA MONTEJANO
bad destiny - the individual should cultivate it or change it through hard work
and effort (Monaghan 1998).
Among contemporary Yucatec Maya, beel refers to road as well as
occupation (Bricker, Po'ot & Dzul 1998): "The day, state of being, and destiny of
the individual is a road, and for it to be 'open' ... is a sign of possibility" (Hanks
1990: 337). They greet each other asking dBix a beel? (literally, "how is your
road?"), and refer to getting married as ts'o'okan u beel (literally, "finish one's
road"). This notion of destiny as an open road shows continuity with its ancient
meaning as a potential to be realized or avoided. Therefore the idea that under-
standing is natural and innate should be understood within this conceptual
framework.
At birth, the potential, the possibility is there, but understanding, or the
mind, needs to be opened or awaken. Symbolically, the hetsmek' ceremony serves
this purpose. Infants' legs are opened so they may walk fast. Walking fast may be
understood literally but also figuratively as working fast and efficiently. Infants
are presented with gendered and non-gendered tools to touch so they may learn
to use them and master them. In communities located in the eastern milpa region
of Yucatan, infants are also offered certain foods to try for the first time in order
to awake their memory and open their thought and language. Elsewhere (Cervera
2007a), I suggest that these abilities evoke those that primordial gods were
looking for when creating human beings: "They were able to speak and converse.
They were able to look and listen. They were able to walk and hold things. with
their hands" (Popol Vuh 2007: 185). In everyday life parents talk to, explam to,
advise their children, and scold them and threaten to spank them if necessary.
The words responsibility or responsible were rarely used by mothers, even if
they were Spanish-speakers. Instead, they used tukul or pensar ("think"), tsik
cuenta or darse cuenta ("be aware"), and u'ub/u'uy or escuchar ("listen"). Mothers
from Popola also used the phrase u k'ahal u yiik' when explaining new abili~:
displayed by three to four year-old children, the role that school shares WI
home, and as one of the purposes of the hetsmek' ceremony. More often, they
used it as a synonym for yan u na'at ("having understanding"). They
explained that some adults ma' [no] u k'ahal u yiik'o'ob, ("they lose contact
U:
!t
reality they become like crazy, they do not work, they do not understand ........
'
they have .
children to support, they JUSt go out and get d run k"). an dthat~ball·
elderly u tu'ubsiko'ob [forget] u yiik'o'ob ("and then they stop bathmg, and c
ging clothes until they forget everything").
Bilingual mothers from Kini translated u k'ahal u yiik' as ya desperto
pensar mas las cosas y hacerlas ("[the child] has awakened to think harder a(
1:
things and do them"); despert6 el nifio, se da cuenta ?'a de las co~as"q.ue :sa~6
child has awakened, he has become aware of all thmgs that exist ), d P
entendimiento de la chiquita ("the understanding of the little one has awaken
ST UDYING YUCATEC MA YA CHILDREN THROUGH THE EYES OF THEIR MOTHERS 171
Phrases like understanding or the child has awakened or se abri6 su entendi-
miento ("her understanding opened") were also used by Spanish-speaker partici-
pants when explaining changes in child's behavior and abilities. Yucatec Maya
speakers also referred that the elderly u tu'ubsiko 'ob u yiik'o'ob and that
drunkards ma' u k'ahal u yiiko'ob because they do not think, they do not
remember their family, they only remember their drunkenness. It may be because
they have no understanding since they were children, they get addicted and once
you are addicted you do not have a mind to think about what you are doing.
Thinking and being aware relate to one's role towards the family and the
community. This encompasses both proper behavior and learning to work, work
hard, and get the job done and done well. Listening refers to paying attention to
what is said, listening to advice. That is, being obedient and respectful. In the
Yucatec ~aya lan?uage u'uy refers to listening as well as to all senses (may or
may not mclude sight) and it may be translated as to understand. "Moreover, a
person said to ... 'hear speech' is understood to be reasonable, obedient, and
respectful, while one who doesn't hear speech ... is disobedient, rebellious, drunk,
demented, in a rage, or otherwise intractable. Thus the two basic verbs of
perception also code understanding, the ability to 'see' a situation, and attentive
reasonableness, the ability to 'hear, listen to it'" (Hanks 1990: 89). Therefore,
thinking, being awar~, and listening convey the idea of responsibility as being
able to carefully consider and reflect on one's behavior in relation to oneself and
others as well as fully understanding the consequences of one's actions and
decisions.
, I have glossed u k'ahal u yiik' as remembering one's responsibility. K'ah and
k ahal mean remember, when combined with ik' they mean "be aware" (Barrera
Vazquez et al. 1980) and "responsibility" (Bricker et al. 1998). However, its literal
translation is "remember one's wind". Ik ' has been translated as wind, breath, life,
spirit, and soul. Since the Classic period (C.E. 200-900), ik' has been conceived as
living ~oul a~d bre~th, one of three animate essences that allowed human beings
to realize their destmy and responsibility through everyday interaction with each
other and the cosmos, and related to the god of wind (Houston & Taube 2000;
Taube_2005). According to the Maya genesis, in addition to their ability to speak,
look, listen, and walk, creator gods said that the first human beings " ... had their
breath, therefore they became" (Popol Vuh 2007: 185). Ik' was also associated
with the act of breathing as well as with vitality; when used in the phase k'ahal ik'
refers to regaining awareness after fainting; in concert with other animate
essence, it allows human beings to learn quickly and become skilled. It was also
construed as spirits of dead people and gods, some associated with the cardinal
points. These ik'o'ob ("wind" plural) could make people sick (Bourdin 2007·
Chavez 2014). '
172 MARIA DOLORES CERVERA MONTEJANO
Many ancient meanings are still present among contemporary Yucatec
Maya: "Ik' is one of the two characteristics that 'link them' [human beings] With
other higher animates and that make it possible for them to engage in the World
in a directed manner" (Hanks 1990: 87). It relates to breath, animacy, awareness,
and its movement within the body contributes to the production of blood. lk' is
shared with extramundane beings and causes illness: k'ak'as ik' ("evil wind"),
whirlwinds that are thought to be spirits of dead people, winds associated With
cardinal points and others associated with the lords or guardian spirits of nature
and towns (Cervera 2007b; Redfield & Villa Rojas [1934] 1990; Ruz 2003). The
translation of u k'ahal u yiik' as children or understanding is awakened by
bilingual mothers from Kini and is similar to the idea of regaining awareness
after fainting as both involve transitioning from an unconscious state to a
conscious one.
Whether expressed as u yantal u na'at, u k'ahal u yiik', despert6 su entendi-
miento or se abri6 su entendimiento, mothers' conceptualization of having under-
standing centers around being responsible in the sense of duty towards oneself
and others by: (i) being respectful and obedient; (ii) being able to learn and work,
get the job done and done well; and (iii) carefully considering and reflecting on
one's actions and the consequences of behaviors and decisions. Except for the
brief reference to ik' as one of the attributes of human beings, other studies
published only reported its expression as wind associated with illness. Maternal
descriptions and exegesis show that ik' is related to the process of development U
k'ahal u yiik' and having understanding were used interchangeably by mothers
from Popola; those from Kini identified the phrase with understanding has
awakened or has opened because at birth ma' t6op ' u na'at ("understanding is not
yet opened or has not yet sprouted").
Yucatec Maya mothers' conceptualization of development as a process of
opening, awakening, sprouting and remembering responsibility conveys the idea
of it being natural and that children are "influenced almost completely by innate
forces that are beyond both their own and their parents' ability to change '!'
control" (Gaskins 1996: 355). Innate forces and inheritance are expressed Ul
understanding being dependent on children's de por si ("how [they] are") or
children's suerte ("luck"). Overall, 42.7% of mothers from both villages
considered that development is innate or inherited yet they attributed a role to
home and school as did mothers who considered that understanding may be
learned. The apparent contradiction between lack of control and human age::.
may be understood in the context of the specific cultural model of !11e the
Individual destiny, abilities and character are tied to the kuuch .("~~rden ) of tial
day of birth, but they are not an inevitable fate. They are a possibility, a potenmi
to be cultivated or avoided by individuals in order to contribute to the cos '
order. As expressed among contemporary Yucatec Maya, it is a road that wh~
open, signals possibility.
173
STUDYING Y UCAT EC MAYA CHILDREN THROUGH THE EYES OF THEIR MOTHERS
Parents are responsible for paving their children's road towards having
understanding. Their responsibility is instantiated in rearing practices and
opportunities and restraints for children to explore and interact within their
physical and social settings. Siblings and school are among the most important
settings of Maya children's developmental niche and both contribute to the
unfolding of understanding. Siblings do so by playing, teaching, and setting a
good or a bad example to the younger ones. The school's role is domain-specific.
It provides children with the knowledge and skills construed in what has been
called Western society. To a lesser extent, it may also share the parental role by
teaching respect and obedience, most likely in ways that differ from those used by
parents.
At home, children are allowed to make their own decisions from early age, as
per Redfield & Villa Rojas ([1934] 1990), Gaskins (1996), and my own obser-
vations. Parents talk to, explain to, and advise their children but do not force
them to do what they do not want. This autonomy may be seen as an instan-
tiation of the idea that opening one's destiny ultimately depends on having one's
understanding open. Roughly until toddlerhood, children are not held
responsible because they do not understand, they do not think, they have not
remembered their responsibility. Thus, mothers let them have their way and
instruct older children to do so. Once children show signs of understanding,
parents cease to treat them differently because they are expected to start taking
responsibility. In both cases, decisions are respected. This rearing style has also
been reported among other populations, including the Maya from Guatemala.
Referred to as responsibility with freedom of choice, the style is described as one
that allows children to learn to be responsible, respectful, and cooperative as they
participate in everyday interactions (Mosier & Rogoff 2003; Reynolds 2008).
CONCLUSION: UNDERSTANDING AS THE MAYA PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY OF
DEVELOPMENT
Popola and Kini tell a different history since they are located in the most
contrasting contexts of integration into the Mexican nation in the state of
Yucatan. Their histories are reflected in differences in language, education,
means of earning a living, and maternal ethnotheories (meaning of some
temperament characteristics, rate of development, and role played by innate or
inherited forces and environment). Socioeconomic changes did not seem to have
influenced ideas and practices except among mothers from Popola. Unlike
before, and other studies (Gaskins 1996, 2000), they recognized a role be to
played in gaining understanding as a result of increased presence of health
services and programs. In addition to population growth, changes in education in
Popola suggest increased importance of schooling, which was also observed by
 MARIA DOLORES CERVERA MONTEJANO
174
Gaskins (2003), but also suggest increased access to government supports.
Educational services had not changed in Kini and access to health services was
facilitated by the opening of a health clinic in the village. Mothers' ideas remained
the same as before, probably because of the longer history of contact with both
health and education services.
The notion of development as understanding was shared among mothers
from both villages during both study periods. Furthermore, the notion of under-
standing and various rearing practices (e.g., rituals similar to hetsmek', autonomy
and respect to individual decisions) are shared by Maya mothers from Yucatan,
Chiapas, and Guatemala (De Leon 2005; Gaskins 1996; Mosier & Rogoff 2003;
Pye 1986; Reynolds 2008; Stross 1972). Among the Maya from Chiapas and
Guatemala, the ancient notion of multiple animate essences is still maintained
and is one of those is linked to understanding. Studies among the Yucatec Maya
extensively document pixan (soul of the dead); only one refers in passing to two
human attributes, ik' and o6l without relating them to pixan.
In light of ethnographic, archaeological, historical, epigraphic, and linguistic
evidence, development as understanding is a shared notion that may be traced
back to core concepts of Maya worldview. It represents a specific cultural model
about childhood and children embedded in what I call Maya psychological
theory. Its variations may be related to different historical experiences lived by
the Maya since Spanish colonization. In order to understand the cultural
construction of childhood and children, it is necessary to cross disciplinary
borders as I have attempted to do. Much remains to be done but the relevance of
doing so goes beyond documenting cultural diversity, as it may contr_ibu~e t~
contesting the notion of universal childhood and children that underlies indi-
6
genous education (Cervera 2008; Lewis & Watson-Gegeo 2004) •
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